Charley B

I just purchased an '88 S4. Miles - 97,000. It obviously needs alignment, and front tires are worn pretty bad on inside edges. I have appointments for new tires and an alignment, but before arriving for the alignment I would like to have a better idea of what else may need attention. Between 20 and 40MPH a violent shimmy will begin which can be ended by braking to 10 MPH or turning heavy to left or right if room on the road allows. It doesn't take much to induce the nasty wobble but if I accelerate steadily up to 70 or 80 no shimmy ensues. At the higher speeds the only indication is a fair amount of play in the steering wheel. Meaning if the fronts wheels are "leaning" left it takes 7 or 8 inches of steering wheel travel to correct to the right and visa versa. While traveling straight the wheel is off to the left about 10 degrees (11 o'clock). I realize some or all of this may be cured by new tires and a good alignment but I thought I would see if anyone had dealt with a similar circumstance. I can't help but think there may be something really obvious here such as ball joints or steering rack etc.

ErnestSw

Something in your front end is badly worn and I would not drive the car again until it's fixed. Could be tires, wheels, tie rod ends, bushings, steering rack bushings, etc. I would strongly advise you to take it to a shop in your area recommended by someone on this board.

marton

Probably your 928 front end has the same wear problem.

Did you check the wheel nuts are tight?

Marton

Bill Ball

Charley:

A good alignment shop will check the balljoints, rack mount play, wheel bearing play, control arm bushing play before they try to align the car. There is no point in aligning a car with any problems in these areas. I expect they will find some problems, but note I said a GOOD alignment shop. You should be aware that the car should not be jacked up before the alignment, as most shops want to do to set their instruments.

Where do you plan to take this? I'm not aware of who might be good in Tracy. Also, we have members who know these cars in Stockton who might pipe in.

I live in Alamo. If you want to drive over tomorrow, I can take a look at things and maybe we can find the source of your shimmy...but who knows what else we might find.

Charley B

Thanks for the generous offer Bill. I work in Danville and it would be very convenient, but because of the violence of the shimmy I have been hesitant to leave my driveway with it since bringing it home from Berkely last week. I have an appointment at "BMW Independant Service " in Livermore on Monday AM for the alignment and I'm awaiting a set of Falkens out of the SoCal plant that are due by Monday. I have a 944 but my regular mechanics won't touch the Sharks any more so I lined this guy up. He does raise the car for alignment but he assured me he uses a come-along to pull the suspension back down to settled before alignment. I'm not averse to switching to a better suggested alignment source, I'm just concerned about driving it for much of a distance.

Bill Ball

OK. There is a procedure for pulling the car back down. He should measure the ride height before he raises and after he pulls back down. Also, AFAIK, there is no need to raise the car to calibrate the instruments. Rolling the car back and forth will do it, if the ramps are long enough. Whatever, as long as the car settles.

- After the vehicle has been raised, starting at the influenced vehicle height, pull the front axle down by 60 - 70 mm and hold for 1 minute. Use special tool
10 - 222 A for this. Keep to the specified time.
- After releasing the vehicle, bounce the front and rear axles approx. 25 mm - a few times.

The tool mentioned is an engine lifting bar, but straps over the stabilizer should work.

If the shaking is that violent, then I don't think you are getting an alignment on Monday unless it is something simple like loose wheel bearings. Is this shop prepared to do repairs?

Hope it goes well.

ErnestSw

The point Bill is making is that a mis-alignment won't cause your problem unless it's related to some sort of failure in your suspension or steering. You'll need an alignment AFTER the cause is fixed.
Make sure your wheel nuts are tight.

Charley B

Thanks Bill. They are prepared to do repairs, the question is do I trust them. He said he only has one other custumer with a 928 (GTS), so their experience can't be too extensive. If I knew of someone else within about 20 miles of me that gave me a better comfort level I'd go that way.

Charley B

Thanks Ernest, I'll check the lug nuts.

SharkSkin

The other symptoms you mention could all be caused by relatively minor issues. This one sounds like something a lot more serious could be going on, like something is about to fall off, like a cracked yoke on the steering u-joint or something along those lines. Your tie rod ends might be loose and ready to fall out. or it may be the cumulative effect of many smaller, less risky issues.

Until you know, I'd recommend not driving it at all until you at least check for gross failure type issues. If you could drive it up on ramps or at least two wheels on the curb and have a helper move the wheel back and forth, you should be able to see enough to figure out what's loose. Pull the rack boots back and check the inner joints as well.

Bill Ball

Dave: I couldn't even figure out the description of that issue. Good job on that.

Charley: I'd be glad to come over to your place tomorrow afternoon and take a look at things. I have jacks, jackstands, whatever tools, if needed. If the problems are this gross, I'm sure we will find the cause and then have a better idea of what you should do on Monday, if not deal with it tomorrow. Let me know by sending me a private message here or emailing me at billb_msn@msn.com

SharkSkin

Yeah Bill, that worries me. Even my 375K mile '76 Ramcharger with 35" tires has less than 1/3 that much slop!

SharkSkin

BTW, one reason I recommended ramps or curb is because whatever is loose while driving may be under tension with the wheels off the ground, which may make diagnosis more difficult.

Mark

For you alignment - you need to find a Hunter DSP-400 or LATER model alignment machine. These have been used by MANY here. The calibration can be done without lifting. (WATCH the tech,tho - they oft-times will STILL try to lift the car!). These are often found in Sears automotive center - yep, Sears!

You can also go to this link on the Hunter website - http://hunter.com/pub/company/FINDREP.HTM

There, you can get the contact info for the local Hunter rep, and find out from them who has the right equipment!

Also - search for some posts from Earl Gilstrom - he is the 'Alignment Guru' and has some great DIY's for alignments. (oops - just noticed you aren't a 'Member' yet....pay your $18 so you can use the search feature. It is BY FAR the most bang-for-you-buck when it comes to your shark!!!)

Welcome to the asylum!

Earl Gillstrom

Read everything on my site about alignments. You will better understand the process.

http://members.rennlist.com/captearlg/

Earl